Nearly 4,000 New Donors Support The Campaign for
SPU
GLENDA AND SHAUN ELLINGSON are a hardworking
young married couple devoted to each other, their jobs at Seattle
Pacific University and their education.

SPU staff members Shaun and
Glenda Ellingson
recently established a scholarship for
married students.

Shaun, a security officer and manager of the SPU motor pool, is
intent on earning a degree in business administration. Glenda, Seattle
Pacific’s program manager of grants and scholarships for Student
Financial Services, received her degree in organizational behavior
in December 2003.

Because the Ellingsons have a concern for married
students who struggle financially, they established a scholarship
last year that benefits a married student who works at least 20
hours a week and carries a full-time academic load. This year, they
are in the process of establishing an endowment that will create
even more scholarship help for married students.

“We don’t have any
hidden income,” says Glenda, who manages more than $12 million in
federal, state and institutional grants and scholarships for students. “We
just understand the challenges of being married while trying to complete
your education. We realize that a little gift from us through payroll
deduction, along with the gifts of many others, can make
a tremendous impact in the lives of students.”

The generous couple joins nearly
4,000 people who have made first-time gifts to SPU during the life of The Campaign
for Seattle Pacific University. Some, like the Ellingsons, are young alumni
who have graduated within the last 10 years. “As a group of donors, they are
really coming on strong,” says Vice President for University Advancement Bob
McIntosh. “We are grateful for those who start early right out of school and
give consistently thereafter. They broaden our alumni support base, and that
is absolutely critical to being a premier university.”

Another large subset of
new donors includes people with no previous connection to Seattle Pacific, who
gave to The Campaign because they found the University’s vision to engage the
culture and change the world compelling. “I’ve seen SPU’s vision in action,” says
Phil Pletcher. His first encounter with Seattle Pacific came through friend
and SPU staff member Mark Miles. Together, they developed a mountain-climbing
program for The Society of Fellows, and Pletcher was drawn to the graduates
he met on expeditions to the summits of Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens.

“Eight
people on the team had graduated within the past five years, and they truly
are people of competence and character grounded in the Christian faith,” says
Pletcher. “They’re exciting to be around. I was 100 percent convicted to give
back to the University that allowed me to develop the program and those relationships.” In
fact, he was so impressed that he applied to become assistant director of research
and grants at Seattle Pacific. His new job began in February.

President Philip
Eaton says that many new givers to The Campaign have come through such personal
contacts. “Many of these acquaintances are drawn to SPU’s vision,” he explains.
“They, too, are people who see a world of significant opportunity and great need.
When a potential donor’s vision syncs with ours, we can form a rewarding partnership
to make a real difference in the world. It’s magic.”